president obama played a round of golf this afternoon but white house officials say this is also a working vacation for him and for his staffers. that is little comfort for the millions of americans wondering what the uncertainty in washington means for them. president obama arriving in hawaii after leaving a washington in disarray. while the president put politics aside for his weekly address -- >> michelle and i want to wish you a merry christmas and a happy holidays. >> reporter: -- on friday the focus was on the fiscal cliff. mr. obama conceded a large deal may now be impossible but urged congress to at least prevent taxes from going up on middle class americans while extending unemployment insurance and laying the groundwork for deficit reduction. >> i expect democrats and republicans to get back to washington and have it pass both chambers. and i will immediately sign that legislation into law. >> reporter: house speaker john boehner also headed home after a bruising week. his own conference refused to back his proposal, which would have allowed taxes to go up on the wealthy, deliver